Gaza militia leader accused of collaborating with Israel killed: Reports

Yasser Abu Shabab, the leader of a gang in the Gaza Strip that was accused of working with Israel to counter Hamas and of looting humanitarian aid, has been killed, several Israeli media outlets are reporting.
Israel’s Channel 14 first reported his death on Thursday, without providing further details. Channel 12 said Abu Shabab was killed in clashes with “Gaza clans” and later pronounced dead at the Soroka Medical Center in southern Israel.
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Abu Shabab became an infamous figure during Israel’s genocidal war on Palestinians in Gaza, as his so-called Popular Forces group was accused of stealing the little humanitarian assistance that the Israeli authorities allowed into the coastal enclave.
Israeli officials later said they were cooperating with armed groups in Gaza, including the one led by Abu Shabab, in order to establish a local anti-Hamas force.
Reporting from Gaza City on Thursday, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said the exact circumstances surrounding Abu Shabab’s death remain unclear. “The big question mark – who killed Yasser Abu Shabab? – is not clear yet,” he said.
Mahmoud explained that Abu Shabab and his group were “notorious” in Gaza for their alleged involvement in drug trafficking and the looting of aid.
They were accused of “deliberately blocking the entry of aid trucks into the northern part of Gaza, where displaced families were left to face famine and the spread of starvation”, Mahmoud added.
“The Israeli military and Israeli officials framed him as someone who is part of an effort to [provide a] counterweight [to] Hamas.”
On Thursday, a Hamas-affiliated security force in Gaza, Radaa, posted a photo of Abu Shabab on Telegram, captioned: “As we told you, ‘Israel won’t protect you.'”
In July, a Hamas-linked court in Gaza gave Abu Shabab 10 days to turn himself in to face charges of treason, collaborating with hostile entities, forming an armed gang, and armed rebellion.
The gang leader was reported to have been previously jailed by Hamas on drug charges.
Experts have said the rise of Abu Shabab reflects a longstanding Israeli policy of supporting Palestinian armed groups in an effort to create internal strife and undermine political movements and resistance.
The looting of aid in the Gaza Strip came as Israel imposed a blockade on the territory, fuelling a humanitarian crisis and famine in several areas.
More than 70,100 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military assault on Gaza, which began in October 2023.